National Desk

Iran is seeking to remove the impediments checking the expansion of relations with Pakistan, Deputy Foreign Minister for Political Affairs Abbas Araqchi said.

He made the remarks in meeting with Pakistani Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi in Islamabad on Monday, IRNA reported.

“Iran and Pakistan should have very good and useful relations,” Araqchi said.

Araqchi pointed to the historical ties between the two Muslim nations, adding that Iran and Pakistan “have lived next to each other for centuries and will live as such for hundreds of years to come.”

The election of Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan has been a harbinger for better ties between the two sides as he had repeatedly called for better relations with the Islamic Republic in his campaign in July.

The abduction of 12 Iranian soldiers in mid-October near the town of Mirjaveh in the southeastern province of Sistan-Baluchestan has led to a flurry of diplomatic activities to release them.

The incident did not sour bilateral ties, but has prompted many Iranian officials to call on Pakistan to do more to capture those behind the abduction.